sand
 

I was just curious if i could use sand from the ocean in my tank instead of buying it. I plan on letting it dry out completely first and then rinsing with r/o water. Would this work? any info appreciated.

That would be illegal, and unless you go out to some remote place, the sand will be contaminated by crap that isn't easily cleaned off of it, and you don't want in your tank.

Also if your sand would be silica based and not calcium carbonate base and would therefore not buffer your water and might contribute to diatomes.

Probably a bad idea.

thanks for the info

why is using beach sand illegal? Dad used to use it all the time for my sandbox.